AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin Independent School District student died following an eighth grade celebration that happened on Wednesday, Covington Middle School Principal Cedric Maddox said in a letter to the campus community Thursday.
The campus identified the student as Vadir Gonzalez-Arias, and the letter said he “passed away [Thursday] morning due to complications related to the incident at the 8th-grade celebration.”
“Vadir was kind, caring, and approached each day with a positive attitude and a willingness to do what was asked of him. He treated his peers and teachers with genuine respect and made those around him feel seen and appreciated,” the letter said Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Austin Fire Department told KXAN in a statement it responded to a medical emergency at the pool at Dick Nichols Park. The agency said Austin Parks and Recreation Department lifeguards performed initial life-saving measures.
Austin-Travis County EMS medics said they transported the child to the hospital on Wednesday.
KXAN reached out to the city of Austin to gather more details on life guards who were at the pool the day of the incident and whether they performed live-saving measures on the child. We received the following statement from a city spokesperson on Friday:
We are aware that Austin ISD has notified staff and students of their heartbreaking loss. This is devastating news, and our thoughts are with the family of the student and the entire Covington community. At the time of this tragic incident there were eight Austin Parks and Recreation Department Lifeguards on duty, with four up on elevated lifeguard chairs; lifeguards rotate the chairs every 20 minutes. Lifeguards performed initial life-saving measures, after which Austin Fire, Austin/Travis County EMS, and Austin Police arrived on scene to provide medical assistance.
City of Austin spokesperson
The campus also said it would provide counseling to students on Friday, according to the letter. Students can come in any time between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Both English and Spanish speaking counselors will be at the campus to “support students individually or in small groups.”